A Study of Buttons
by Miles From the Lightning
Summary: Jack and Elizabeth are in the mad panic of their wedding weekend, can they still find time to be together just the two of them despite the descending Thortons and Thatchers? Will be rated M starting next chapter (:
Chapter One:

Jack straightened his blue suit jacket, took a deep breath and knocked on Abigail's door. The sound of voices and footsteps on the other side of the door indicated to his trained ear that there were approximately ten people and someone was working the cast iron stove. As he stood waiting, he thought about how before Elizabeth he'd never considered himself a hopeless romantic but he since his heart still melted every time he wanted to see her it was time to own up that fact. He had actually spoken to Rip about this at length this morning, but since the dog had just whined and fell asleep halfway through the conversation, it seems like he had already passed judgment and found Jack's protests unconvincing.

Being a hopeless romantic meant he discovered a hidden talent for planning surprises. He hoped Elizabeth enjoyed this next one as much as she had his others. It was simple, but from the heart and he thought she would love it. Jack adjusted his tie and checked his pocket watch, three minutes had passed and his nerves didn't let him be patient.

He knocked again, louder, and heard Julie's voice over the din say "I'll get it" just before the door yanked open revealing her curious face. Upon seeing Jack, she squealed in delight and threw her arms around him. "JACK! We are going to be brother and sister in only TWO DAYS!"

Jack laughed and returned the hug. "Really only a day and a half and it seems like you've been working hard." He pulled out one of many flowers haphazardly stuck into her hair and presented it to her with a flourish.

"Thank you, kind Sir," Julie curtseyed dramatically, accepted the flower and flounced back to her seat next to the coffee table.

Across from Julie sat Elizabeth on the sofa with Clara by her side, combining flowers into bouquets with ribbon. She looked up to see who was at the door and her entire face lit up when she saw him. One of the things Jack loved the best about her was her eyes, he felt he could always read her emotions in them and right now they said she was delighted to see him. She couldn't actually speak the words, however, since she had a line of pins carefully placed between her lips as she was trying to pin together ribbon around the bunch of flowers in her hand. Jack grinned at her; she had a large red dahlia placed carefully behind one ear. Buckets of flowers surrounded the sofa, coffee table, and chairs.

Elizabeth's mother, Grace, and sister Viola were sitting in chairs next to them, drinking tea and looking out of place. The whole room was covered in wedding decorations, more flowers, candles, lacy tablecloths, dresses hung up in one corner, banners crafted by Elizabeth's students hung from the bannister.

Abigail stood at the stove, pulling scones out of the oven while Pastor Frank paused from his conversation with Elizabeth's father William, to give him a nod and a smile. William Thatcher also nodded at him, but did not smile. Dressed in a dark suit, he looked positively somber about the prospect of his daughter getting married to a Mountie in the tiny town of Hope Valley. Jack refused to let him ruin his good mood; the man was here after all and hadn't cut Elizabeth out of the family so it couldn't be that bad.

"We weren't expecting you tonight, Jack," Abigail said, offering him a scone as soon as he walked into the room that he gratefully took. "You certainly look very nice."

"Thank you, Abigail. I was able to finish my duties early and hoped to spend some time with my bride before we rush into full on wedding production tomorrow." He looked at Elizabeth intently, who looked tired yet radiant at the same time. The finished pile in front of her and Clara was large, while only one poorly done bouquet lay on Julie's side of the table.

Elizabeth looked around at all the flowers left to be done and tried to say something that sounded like a protest, but she couldn't move her lips without losing the pins. Jack smiled, thinking about Elizabeth's lips in a rather indecent way before jerking his attention back onto his purpose for being here.

"Mrs. Thatcher, I beg your permission to steal Elizabeth for an hour. I know there is still plenty of work to be done, but I have a wedding gift I would like to give her and tomorrow will be busier than today."

"A wedding gift?" Elizabeth asked, surprised. She had finally stuck enough pins in the bouquet for it to hold together and her to speak clearly. "Jack, you know I want to join you, I really do but there is still so much to be done…"

"I'm sure we can spare her for an hour," Grace said with a twinkle in her eye. "One of Viola's best subjects in finishing school was flower arranging, so I'm sure she would be happy to take over for Elizabeth." Viola set down her teacup and examined the flowers critically. Elizabeth looked hopefully at Viola who nodded after a long pause. "I may even be able to get started on the garlands, if Abigail can help me."

"Of course I can," Abigail said, piling more scones onto a plate and passing them around.

"Where are you going to be?" asked William, frowning as he took a scone from the plate.

"In the church, if that's alright with Pastor Frank." Jack looked at Frank who quickly nodded.

"You're welcome to use it anytime." Was that a subtle wink the Pastor just gave him? Jack always knew he liked that man and was happy that Abigail liked him too.

"Very well," William sighed, clearly not happy with the idea that her daughter was going to be un-chaperoned but not willing to argue the point when everyone else seemed so agreeable. "I'll send Julie around in an hour to fetch Elizabeth."

"Wonderful, thank you sir." Jack smiled and looked expectantly at Elizabeth who was organizing her things for Viola to take over.

"Let me run upstairs and grab a shawl," she said as she carefully handed the flowers to Viola and moved towards the stairs. She veered to give her father a small hug and a soft "Thank you, Daddy" which seemed to mollify William's stern expression.

Jack watched her go, before biting into his almost-forgotten scone that Abigail had handed him.

He smiled at her in thanks as William looked at him and sighed, before turning back to his conversation with Frank.

"What do you have planned for tonight?" Julie asked, always hopeful for any details about their courtship. He had never met a girl more obsessed with romance than her. Elizabeth had told him she worried that Julie read too many dime novels. After her excursions with that outlaw and his brother, Jack might have to agree.

"That is actually a surprise. I'm sure Elizabeth will show it to you when we return."

"Besides," Viola interjected, "the exchanging of wedding gifts between bride and groom is traditional before a wedding." She looked a Jack as if she was surprised he knew of such a thing. Jack smiled pleasantly in return and finished off his scone.

He was spared any more awkward Thatcher conversation as Elizabeth came back down the stairs with a shawl around her shoulders and a small parcel in one hand.

She kissed her mother on the cheek, said goodbye, and pulled Jack out of doors by the hand. The evening was not yet dark, but the sun hung low over the horizon in the west. The heat from the summer day had cooled to a pleasant temperature.

As they moved down the stairs and into the street, he linked their arms together. "I'm glad to get you to myself finally. Even if it's only for a hour."

She laughed and leaned into him. "In a day and a half you will have me all to yourself all the time."

"Well, I do have to share you with thirty students, but I will take what I can get."

"And I have to share you with the Mounties, but we will certainly make do," she said, squeezing his arm. "The children are almost more excited about this wedding than I am, and that is saying a lot. They've been working on decorations in their free time and I can't wait to see how everything is going to pull together tomorrow when we decorate the church."

"Lee and Rosemary's gift to us is bringing in a professional photographer to capture the memories, and I'm sure he'll do better than I did with the Mountie issued forensic camera."

She laughed. "While those photos did turn out nice, I have to say I still prefer the more artistic rendering of pencil and paper."

"I'm glad you do," he said smugly, turning them up the lane to the church. On the steps of the church lay a picnic blanket nestled out in the corner of the porch, overlooking the lake but out of view from the path into town. On the blanket lay pillows and leaning against the porch railing was a large rectangular parcel wrapped in brown paper.

"Oh Jack," Elizabeth sighed happily, "this looks wonderful." They walked up the stairs and sank onto the pillows, looking over at the sun's reflection on the lake. Elizabeth linked her small fingers in with his, sending a small electric shock through his hand. Even though they had held hands dozens of times, whenever she touched him his heart raced. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and smiled when she turned to face him. He thought about kissing her, well, he thought about kissing her quite a lot, so that wasn't surprising.

Instead, he reached over and passed her the large parcel. He almost regretted it when she let go of his hand to take it in hers, but the smile on her face told him better things were going to come.

"I recognize this shape," Elizabeth said as she took the parcel, tall and wide, but very thin. She tore away the paper, revealing an oil painting. It was of the church, with the lake in front, and two people coming out of the church, one dressed in white and the other in red. She gasped as she recognized those small figures as herself and Jack, and the faces of their friends welcoming them in front. "Oh Jack, this is so beautiful. I can't believe you made this for me," Elizabeth's voice quivered at the end of her sentence and her eyes became bright with tears.

"Darling, remember when I told you that I can't always articulate my feelings very well, but I can express them better this way. I am so… happy and honored that you decided to choose me, despite our arguments and misunderstandings, to spend the rest of your life with," Jack brushed away the first tear that fell with his thumb, cradling the side of her face. "I love you so much."

"That sounded very articulate to me, and my profession is based on using words." She laughed a shaky laugh, trying to control her tears. "I love you too, you mean the world to me. I could never choose anyone else to be with." She bent her head to wipe under her eyes and laughed again. "I do also recall a time when you were very articulate about your displeasure of being posted to Coal Valley to babysit a Thatcher princess."

He laughed too. "It certainly was easier to talk about my frustration than the more subtle, half formed feeling of attraction I didn't understand."

"Subtle! I always knew you were attracted to me, that wasn't the confusing part. The confusing part was why it took you so long to do anything about it."

"While that may have been obvious to you, it wasn't to me. I had so long decided that I was going to live the solitary Mountie life, especially after what happened with Rosemary, it took me longer to acknowledge and accept what I was feeling." He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and held it in his again. "And you can admit that once I decided to do something about it, I certainly made my intentions pretty clear. Like our first date at Abigail's and that sketch I gave you."

"You mean the first date over chili and cornbread at the saloon…" Elizabeth started to joke, but something about Jack's statement brought a thoughtful expression to her face. She dropped his hand to looked closely at the oil painting again and Jack could practically see her mind putting connections together. Suddenly she gasped and set the painting aside to turn on him, eyes blazing and pointing a finger into his chest.

"James Henry Thorton, _you_ were the person who painted us kissing on the Founder's Day mural! I should have known all along!" Laughing, Jack tried to grab her jabbing finger, but she moved too fast for him, rising to her knees and put her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you did something so rash, it was up there in front of the whole town. My students saw it! I was so embarrassed!" Her cheeks were flushed pink but she didn't look angry, though, she looked pleased.

Jack laughed, feeling smug as he looked up at her. "It certainly got you thinking about us in a new light, didn't it?"

"Well, not necessarily," she said, leaning back to sit on her heels and relaxing her hands on to her lap. "I may have already been thinking about you like that, but it was still shocking to see such a visual."

He shifted closer to her, eliminating any space in between them. "Well, it turned out to be my favorite idea." He put his arms around her, drawing her in.

She grinned. "It's my favorite idea too." She curled her fingers into the lapel of his jacket and pulled him towards her until he was close enough for her to kiss. As he deepened the kiss, heat slowly started building in the pit of his stomach. This was the best thing he had ever done, to somehow convince this woman to kiss him, especially like this. He put a hand into her soft curly hair, feeling her hand slide down from his chest to his jacket buttons. She undid both buttons and the slid her hands over his stomach. Her curious hands were going to be the death of him.

He pulled back for air then kissed her harder, spurred by the feeling of her hands tracing up his chest to his shoulders. She tried to push his jacket off him, so he let go of her and slid his arms out, the jacket dropping onto the floor behind him. He broke their kiss for another breath, Elizabeth breathing heavily with swollen lips and he noticed her hair was mussed from where his hand had been. God, she looked so beautiful. Her shawl had slid to the ground, forgotten, and her pink blouse looked significantly more rumpled where he had been holding her at her waist. He contemplated her blouse, admiring the lace on the neckline and the way it clung to her curves.

Carefully, he reached out and stroked her chin, sliding his thumb down the side of her neck. She made a small groan and tilted her head back to give him better access. He leaned down and left a soft trail of kisses down her neck before pulling back.

"Jack, please," she said softly, so he obliged and kissed down her neck again, this time stopping at the top button on her blouse. He lingered at that button, the next step for him to take. He had thought about this, late at night when Elizabeth was the last thing he thought of and before he completely succumbed to dreams. It had happened more and more regularly the closer they got to the wedding, he would find himself drifting off into a smutty daydream when riding his horse or finishing paperwork. And this moment was his favorite one to think about. The image of Elizabeth's hair dark against white sheets as he unbuttoned her blouse to reveal her creamy skin made his breath hitch.

He looked at her, meeting her expressive eyes that told him that she loved how he was making her feel. It was the same look he saw when they sat close on the couch under a blue blanket and she informed him that she wasn't tired and they didn't need to talk before she kissed him like she does. He still could barely believe he was lucky enough to be marrying this woman.

Her hands stilled and rested on his upper arms as she watched his face and waited for him to make his decision. He ran his fingers along its neckline, fingering the lace and finally stopping to undo that one top button. He pressed a final kiss to the bare skin it revealed, and then looked at Elizabeth.

"I love you. I promise I will love you forever." His voice was huskier than normal, but then again kissing this woman had that effect on him. She smiled and kissed him again, this time so sweetly it made him ache. Then she pulled back, wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. They held each other like that for a while, trying to come back to earth. Jack spotted the small wrapped parcel that Elizabeth had walked over with.

"Did you bring me a wedding present too?" he asked, surprised. "I thought you didn't know I was bringing you one."

"Oh, I didn't, but I guessed," she replied, sitting up to grab it and hand it to him. "It's not nearly as nice as the one you gave me, but like how Viola was the top in her flower arranging class at finishing school, I was the top in mine for penmanship."

"I know that you have beautiful handwriting, I've never seen such nice writing on a chalkboard," Jack looked down at the brown paper, wondering what it could be. He undid the string and pulled the paper apart. It was a framed piece of cream paper. In a gorgeous, curling blue script Elizabeth had written, "He is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2.

"Elizabeth, this is beautiful," Jack said, tracing the lines with his fingertips. She linked her hand with his unoccupied one, holding it in both of hers.

"I've always loved this verse, and that I've met you I feel like I understand it better. It's like God put you in my life to be a source of strength and protection so I better understand how much he is my source of strength and my protection."

He felt so full of love for this woman that he was going to burst. "You are a wonder, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," he said as he pulled her into another embrace. He was struggling to put his feelings into words when he spotted Julie coming around the corner, a huge grin on her face.

"Isn't this the most romantic thing I've ever seen!" she exclaimed loudly, clasping her hands in front of her and sighing.

"Julie," Elizabeth tried to sound strict but the huge grin on her face ruined the effect.

"What! It's true, you know. Besides, Father sent me to collect you and Viola finished all the bouquets and they look wonderful. We can't decide on the garlands, however, I think they should all be done up in one colour placed at alternating intervals around the chapel but Viola thinks they should be all done the same, how boring. Also, Clara wants your opinion on the embroidery for some of the tablecloths. I suppose that means you need to come back," Julie finally came up to the stairs and surveyed the both of them. Her eyes widened. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Father will think he should have sent you with a chaperone. Look at the state of you both!"

Jack laughed out loud while Elizabeth turned pink. She stood and picked up her shawl and wrapped it back around her shoulders.

"Your hair," Julie mock whispered, and Elizabeth flipped her head over and tried to evenly fluff out her hair. Jack took this opportunity to put his jacket back on, gather the pillows and fold the blanket they were sitting on. As Elizabeth righted, Jack handed Julie the pillows and blanket and turned back to his bride.

"Let me help you with this," he said softly, blocking his hands with his body so Julie couldn't see that he was doing up that top button on Elizabeth's blouse. "After all, I am soon to become well acquainted with doing and undoing your buttons." He grinned at Elizabeth who flushed again, the twinkle in her eye telling him she was excited about that prospect.

Put back together as best they could, they turned back to Julie who was unabashedly spying on them. Elizabeth just laughed and linked her arm through her sister's and they turned to head back to the cafe.

Jack barely registered Julie's wedding chatter as he and Elizabeth kept sneaking glances at each other. They must have not been very sneaky because Julie suddenly stopped mid-sentence, rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Honestly, it's like I'm not even here."

This brought a laugh from Elizabeth who linked arms with her sister as well, pulling Jack and Julie in closer to her.

"I love that I get to be here with my two favourite people in the whole world," she squeezed both their arms.

"Just remember that you had me first!" Julie squeezed back.

"You are always going to be my baby sister."

"Baby! I will have you know that I am turning 20 this summer -" Julie's outrage was cut off mid-launch by their arrival at the steps of the cafe and Viola's presence in the doorway. Her hand was on her hip and she looked like a more regal version of a disgruntled Julie.

"Elizabeth, I really need your opinion of the garlands, Julie has the silly idea of grouping all the flowers solely by colour but I really feel like they would be more adequate as balanced arrangements."

Jack met Elizabeth's eyes, his own slightly wider. He hoped to slowly step away from this whole encounter. Elizabeth's expressed her mirth at his discomfort. Was that a subtle wink, or had he imagined it? Based on the smile growing across her face, it must have happened. 

"Let me say goodbye to Jack and then I'll be in straight away, Viola, Julie," she said, unlinking her arm from Julie's. The two sisters entered back into Abigail's living room arguing over white verses maroon flowers as centerpieces for the garlands. Elizabeth turned and wrapped her arms around him, an embrace that he easily and automatically returned.

"I hate that we are going to barely see each other tomorrow," she said softly against his chest.

"Like you said, we'll see plenty of each other starting the day after." Jack placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I can't wait," she kissed him briefly, sweetly on the lips then took a step back. "Thank you so much for my gift. I love it, and I love you so much."

"I love you too, Elizabeth," Jack smiled, getting one from Elizabeth in return. Then she visibly squared her shoulders and turned to enter into the wedding fray. Jack saluted her, clicking his heels together. "Good luck, sergeant. Better you than me."

"At ease, Mountie," Elizabeth said, nailing her imitation of an officer's drawl so well that Jack automatically put his hands behind his back and stood braced. "Turn in and get some rest before tomorrow's battle."

"Yessir, thank you sir," Jack remained at rigid attention, delighted at this unexpected turn of events. When had Elizabeth spend time with military men? A question he would have to remember for next time.

"Dismissed!" Elizabeth broke character only to wink again and then walked into the house. Jack headed home, plotting his next step. Just because they weren't going to spend much time together during all the wedding preparations didn't mean he couldn't make her think of him while they were apart. Once he got to the jail he sat down at his desk and found his sketchbook. Rip snorted in his sleep and rolled over. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Hey friends, this is the first part of a four chapter fic. Next chapter is going to be rated M, so only follow with that in mind I would love a beta reader for this chapter and the next ones to come. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it!


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